Catalyst
by Hane no Zaia
Summary: A catalyst is 1) a substance that starts or speeds up a chemical reaction without being affected by it, 2) a person or a thing that sparks some change or event. In the end, losing Shiro might just cost Keith more than just his spot at the Garrison. Yellow, catlike eyes stare back at him, gleaming in the dimly lit bathroom. (Abandoned, to be adopted by Techno Heart)


_I made the mistake of watching Voltron. Then I made the mistake of looking at fan art. Then this happened. It was totally unavoidable._

-o0o-

The mirror in front of him is cracked. The reflection regarding him from the other side is foreign but every bit as scared as he is. Later, he will now what this means, just like he will know the meaning of the dagger that is his sole memento of his biological parents. For now however, there is nothing besides Keith, his reflection and the terrifying realisation of what he has to do.

In the days leading up to this day, Keith has not just toyed with the thought; he has seriously considered the alternative and then discarded it, because if Shiro is alive (Shiro is alive) and still out there somewhere (He is), then Keith has next to no chance in finding him, should he get himself kicked out of the Galaxy Garrison. After all‒

" _Make sure to behave while I'm gone. I mean it."_

Keith tries. Keith really tries, but then‒

" _Keith‒"_

Yellow, catlike eyes look back at him, gleaming in the dimly lit bathroom. The facial shape does not differ very much from his usual one, barring the skin colour (purple) and the two decidedly catlike ears poking up from where his normal ears used to be. Reaching up to touch them, he catches sight of his hands. They also carry a purple tinge. One is also mostly covered in bandages.

The mirror is cracked because it had met the business end of Keith's fist earlier. However, that and the lingering pain both pale in the face of the tiny claws that have replaced his fingernails.

"What am I?" he asks himself hoarsely even though there is really no need. Keith knows, if only on an instinctual level, but that is not what scares him. What scare him are the implications, the consequences of what he is seeing.

After all, Keith already knows that the commanding officers have no qualms about sweeping things under the rug; that they care little for what or who must be sacrificed in the cover-up.

Again, he looks up at himself in the bathroom mirror. His strange reflection looks back, scared but at the same time enraged. After all, it would have been one thing, had the failure of the Kerberos mission been blamed upon equipment; despite the advancement of technology, equipment could always malfunction, especially so in such extreme conditions. And if there had been a major malfunction, then not even a talented pilot like Shiro would have been able to do much; the whole crew would have been too far out for anyone to reach them in time, had they sent a distress signal. Though it would have been an anticlimactic end, it would still have been decidedly more realistic than the bullshit about a crash due to pilot error that was in the official report. Keith would come to terms with the former; he would certainly have grieved the loss, but he would have accepted it eventually. Instead they had lied and they had known it; Keith had seen it in their eyes just as clearly as they had seen the rebellion in his. "Don't question the authority of a commanding officer," they had hissed, but Keith doesn't have a problem with authority, not really. Authoritarians on the other hand can shove it; the only reason Keith has really stayed in line this long is Shiro, and with Shiro gone and them lying, who are they to expect his loyalty and unquestioning obedience?

But no, this is no longer a question of obedience; this is a question of survival. After all, if anyone sees him like this, then Keith has no doubt he too will vanish and not of his own accord. Besides, with Shiro gone, there is really no one left to ask questions of his whereabouts; if they say that he's either dropped out or been kicked out, then no one will question it. Heck, going by how many cadets had seen his angry stalk from the Commander Iverson's office earlier, such news would not be disbelieved. Just because Keith is an ace fighter pilot doesn't mean that he is particularly liked; he isn't like Shiro, who had been an idol to so many in the Garrison.

It is a small miracle though that Keith hadn't already been kicked out after that first confrontation. But apparently, being the current pilot ace did cut a bit of leeway as far as that was concerned. Keith had thought of it as unlikely to last though; second chance or not, Keith would not have been able to just stand there quietly while they smeared Shiro's‒

" _Keith‒"_

Keith tightens his injured hand into a fist. It hurts, but for now, the pain grounds him. After all, if Shiro is still out there, then Keith has next to no chance in finding him, should he get himself kicked out for real or be discovered like this and shipped off to who knew where. In order to avoid this, he must first find some way to undo the transformation; there has to be a way, somehow, but how?

" _Keith, just remember: Patience yields focus."_

Patience, huh? That's certainly easy for him to say, when there is really no time. Still‒

Keith closes his eyes and dips his head forward. He then takes a deep breath, forcing himself to relax, to focus on Shiro's words, repeating them inwardly like a mantra. Then finally he repeats them aloud ("Patience. Yields. Focus.") and opens his eyes; the room seems a lot darker now, but at least his eyes have stopped glowing.

Keith takes a chance and flicks on the light switch.

Light floods the room. For a brief second, it proves searing. Keith hisses and screws his eyes shut again, being more careful the next time he opens them. By then, his eyes are mostly back to normal and so is most of him. _Most_ of him, that is. Keith takes a deep breath and tries again. "Patience. Yields. Focus."

It takes a while before his ears are back to normal, but when they are, Keith heaves a sigh of relief. Only his right hand, which is injured, retains some of its earlier purplish hue. Keith can work with that though, and he definitely will.

"Patience," he reminds himself, because if he wants to find out what happened to Shiro, he must stay in control. If not, then everything is lost. "Focus."

"Shiro…" Even so, it hurts.

-o0o-

In the end, Keith only lasts for about a month. He loses his temper and gets booted from the Garrison. It's pretty terrible, but it could certainly have been worse, had anyone seen his right hand at the time (purple, adorned with small claws, covered in fuzz).

In the end, he ends up in the desert, a couple of miles away from the garrison. There is a house there in the middle of nowhere, and it becomes his base of operations while he explores the surrounding mountain range. There is something out there and he actively gravitates towards it; something about a lion, depicted in various cave markings in the area. Of course, that is not all that is said there. Over the course of the following months, Keith carefully documents them, triangulating the strange energy that resides in the area. Soon, an entire wall is dedicated to his findings, and Keith can stare at it for hours at the time, trying to figure out their significance.

Eventually, a story starts taking shape, depicting or predicting some sort of cosmic event. If it's the latter, then something is coming, but who and for what? Keith thinks of this often whenever he ventures out into the desert at night, covering large distances with his hovercraft. He still transforms, partially or entirely, but it's mostly at night. In the day, he occasionally makes trips back to civilisation, restocking his supplies. By now, his time at the Galaxy Garrison seems irrelevant. Shiro still exists though, if not at the forefront of Keith's mind then at the very least at the back of it, a constant presence.

However, when Keith first picks up on the large object hurtling through the stratosphere, he doesn't primarily think of Shiro. Instead, he looks at the trajectory and realises that oh shit, they're going to crash right around the mountain range close to the Galaxy Garrison.

There is little time for hesitation. Keith doesn't stop to look at his own reflection. Instead, he grabs some smaller explosives just in case.

-o0o-

The explosives certainly come in handy, given that they draw away a significant portion of those previously guarding the site. Granted, the distraction won't last very long, which means Keith still needs to get in and out before the military gets back. Taking a brief moment to gather himself, Keith adjusts his scarf; it's a half-hearted attempt to disguise himself at best, but it's still better than nothing.

He measures the distance, making sure that the coast is clear. Then he takes off running, determined to retain the element of surprise. The remaining obstacles (guards, sealed doors) pose no greater hindrance. Neither do the people in hazmat suits in the room that awaits him at the very end. Of course, they try to stop him. Keith vaguely registers Commander Iverson's voice among them, but by then, he has already knocked the guy down and out. In that particular moment, nothing could be farther from his mind.

There is a person (human) strapped to a gurney at the other end of the room. Keith swiftly makes his way over, nearly stumbling over one of the fallen bodies on the way. Once there, he pulls down his scarf; perhaps this isn't his smartest decision ever. But at that moment, when he gazes down at the prisoner, everything else gets muted, his sole focus being the unresponsive man on the gurney.

Only halfway aware of it, Keith reaches out, grabbing hold of their chin to turn their face towards him. The action elicits a small groan. There is a scar, a massive tuft of white hair, but beneath that, a face that Keith recognises. There is also a prosthetic arm, but the latter registers only as an afterthought. _"Shiro?"_

There is however no time to dwell on the miracle; Keith swiftly uses his dagger to cut the bonds, slinging Shiro's arm across his shoulders. He pulls him up, slinging his other arm across Shiro's back to stabilise him; Shiro's pretty heavy, but so long as Keith can drag him over to his hovercraft‒

The door slides open.

For a brief moment, Keith thinks he might just have to fight his way through. However, going by their looks and demeanour (civilian clothes, nervousness from two by the door, mild agitation from the one approaching), they're also intruders. "Nope," the latter snaps, crossing the room. "No, you‒ No, no, no, no, you don't. I'm saving Shiro."

O‒kay? "Who are you?" Keith asks, far more surprised than apprehensive as the other drags Shiro's other arm across their shoulders. There is some semblance of familiarity there, aside from the more obvious obnoxiousness; this guy obviously recognises him, and maybe he does evoke some vague recognition, but‒

"Who am I? Uh, the name's Lance." (Doesn't ring a bell.) "We were in the same class at the Garrison."

Huh. "Really? Are you an engineer?"

This Lance guy looks mildly offended at that. "No, I'm a pilot! We were like rivals. You know‒"

Now that he mentions it‒ "You're a cargo pilot."

"Well, not anymore," the other snaps on top of Shiro's head. "I'm fighter class now, thanks to you washing out."

"Well, congratulations," Keith snorts, leaving the conversation at that. They are running out of time after all. "Let's go."

Letting those three cadets catch a ride with him isn't in the original plan. However, with Shiro still unconscious (drugged up) and Keith having to pilot the hovercraft, he deems it a necessary evil, even if the massive overload makes it difficult to outmanoeuvre the Garrison pursuit. Steering towards the edge of a massive cliff earns him plenty of protests, but really, who says Keith has a choice in the first place?

"What are you doing?!" Lance shouts once they hit freefall. (The other two are screaming.) "You're going to kill us all!"

"Shut up and trust me!" Keith snaps, because massive overload or not, it should work. (It does.)

The rest of the ride is pretty quiet, comparatively speaking. Though it's tempting, Keith doesn't head straight back to his hideout. Before that, he has one of the cadets (the small one; Pidge?) check for any signs of activity in the general vicinity. At least for now, it seems like the Garrison has lost their trail, but Keith is hardly naïve enough to assume that it'll last very long. "Come on, let's get moving."

Lance looks ready to protest, but his bigger companion (Hunk?) clamps a hand down onto Lance's shoulder, shaking his head. Keith doesn't really care what they think though; they're on his turf now and without his skills, the lot would no doubt have been captured and subjected to interrogation by now.

Shiro is still unconscious by the time they reach the house. They get him inside and on top of the couch. For now, they can do little more but wait. Or, as Keith discovers, he can do little else; now that the immediate excitement and introductions are all done with, the yawns and exhaustion start becoming more obvious. Wordlessly, Keith points them to the loft, caring little if they steal his makeshift bed; tonight, he has no better use of it. Besides, someone's got to stand guard and with Shiro still out of it, Keith trusts only himself to do it.

Soon, there are snores coming from above; it sounds like Lance, but who cares, really?

Before, Pidge had mentioned something interesting, something Shiro had said before the Garrison people had put him under.

 _("Look, there's no time‒ Aliens are coming here for a weapon; they're probably on their way. They'll destroy us! We have to find Voltron!")_

Keith reaches out, wishing to ascertain that he hadn't just dreamt it all, but pauses midway, catching sight of his hand (purple). Earlier, he had been too focused on the task at hand to worry all that much about transforming. Granted, it had been pretty dark for the most part, but Keith would like to think that the others would have reacted if he had, so‒

"Might as well make use of it," he mutters, straightening back up.

Dawn is still a couple of hours away when he heads out. Taking the hovercraft is tempting, but Keith covers it up instead, because red and white is especially eye-catching in a place like this. Granted, the measure is highly temporary; it's not a question of _if_ but rather of _when_ the Garrison tracks them down, and if Keith has to stand vigil all night, then so be it.

"Voltron, huh?" he murmurs, turning his head in direction of the mountain range towering in the distance. He might just be imagining it, but the feeling seems stronger now, somehow.

-o0o-


End file.
